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Monday, October 12, 2009

I'm here to publicly admit that I've been bad and have not done something Halloweeny every single day. I'm sorry. I fully intended to.

Awhile back I had gotten some Harry Potter science kits from ebay. They've been moved around and stuck here & there, forgotten mostly. But I wanted to use them up before they were no longer usable. So I had planned on doing those since they were some creepy fun Chemistry things. Well, guess what? The materials were hardened and unusable. :( And I did put together a Halloween themed photo scavenger hunt for the teens in our homeschool group. So I've been doing a little, just not something every day.

And I'd like to share this photo -

All that fur, and he still wants a blanket! ;)

Ok, so on the homeschool front... Again, I've been a bad girl. It's just been SO hard to get into any sort of routine this year. But here are the plans for this week:

Science - Health unit from KidsHealth.org This week we'll do the following units: Sleep; Bones, Muscles and Joints.

Begin study of Darwin & Evolution.

Language Arts - We have a bit of the Greek Myths literature unit from last year to finish. So we'll work on getting that completed this week.

Math - Dig out our brand new Math U See books and crack them open. I'm hoping to get 2-3 lessons finished this week.

Social Studies - Trail Guide to US Geography; Begin unit study on The Rise of Nazi Germany (using out Learning Through History magazine).

Then on Saturday I have our first homeschool review of the school year. We have switched reviewers and will be visiting with another homeschool mom & friend for our review (and getting to talk to another friend that moved to CO via Skype). So this is kinda why I am posting our plans, we NEED to get a move on so i have somethign to show. LOL

Monday, October 5, 2009

So far so good... I've been able to do something Halloween-y every day so far. Although yesterday might be stretching it a bit, but who cares. LOL

Oct 4 - was our homeschool groups's picnic. I usually do a NBTS picnic sometime the end of August or beginning of September, but with the move this year I just didn't get to plan it. So the owner of our homeschool group suggested a picnic where the newer members can join in, plus dads. So it was sort of a combined picnic.

As for what I did Halloween-like yesterday, I ate "poison" brownies one mom brought. We had a lovely day outside with friends and enjoyed the crisp Fall air. And I even ate some candy corn last night. ;)

Oct 5 - Today I took 2 frames I had that I really didn't like the color of and sanded them down and repainted them black. I just used some acrylic craft paint as I didn't want them to look glossy like spray paint looks. I had printed a picture of Egdar Allan Poe in black and white, made a mat and then placed both into one of the frames. Then I added 2 googly eyes. :) It looks pretty cool.

And here is the pumpkin roll recipe I use every year. You can see pictures of one we made last year here: Pumpkin Rolls

Cake:

2/3 Cup Pumpkin (we use the pumpkin pie filling because it has more seasoning to it)

3 eggs

1 Cup sugar

3/4 Cup flour

1tsp each salt, baking soda, and cinnamon

Line cookie sheet with wax paper, spray with Pam. Combine all ingredients, spread evenly on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Let cool about 5 minutes or so, then cover with a dish towel, flip cake onto towel & remove cookie sheet and was paper. Sprinkle well with powdered sugar, roll up (in towel) and put in the freezer to cool completely.

Filling:

8oz cream cheese

2 TBS butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 Cup powdered sugar

1 whole tub (8oz) cool whip

Cream together. Unroll cake, sprinkle again with powdered sugar & spread filling over cooled cake. Roll (sprinkle more powdered sugar on the outside of the roll while rolling, to help from tearing) and wrap in foil.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

October 1st - we brought out the Halloween decorations. In doing so, I realized how little I have. But we put a few things about and I left the rest for another time. I then started making a list of things we can do for the rest of October. I found some fun crafts, we have a few "spooky" science kits/experiments to do, and of course some baking.

October 2nd - We put the rest of the decorations out. The kids decided to get rid of the cheesy window clings finally. LOL I gather more supplies for some crafts we'll be doing on the coming days. At the store we picked up some mini pumpkins and gourds.

October 3rd - we've been doing some fall baking today. Brownies have been baked and are cooling. Then we'll be icing them and adding fall colored sprinkles. I don't usually ice my brownies, but hey, it is just more chocolate. :D Right now I have 2 loaves of zucchini bread cooking. Then I have to bake 2 loaves of banana bread to take to our homeschoolers picnic tomorrow.

While the brownies were baking, Amanda and spread glue onto the stems of the pumpkins and gourds then added glitter. They look really cute.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long. (Well ok, I can believe.. I was never that great at blogging regularly.) But I'll try harder. ;)

We've had many things going on since I blogged last. The major event was we moved at the beginning of August. We are now apartment dwellers. hehe That's been quite an adjustment. We were living at my husband's fathers place, we had a small house on his same property that was about 6 feet away from the main house. While it was "our" place, it was way too close. We had planned on moving 3 years ago but then Randy hurt himself at work and was unable to work at all for 2 years. So we were planning to move sometime this fall, then began having major issues with his dad. And we ended up moving before we had wanted to (or I should say before we were planning.) But we are moved and much happier.

Another event was my oldest turning 16 in August! I can't believe I have a 16 yo. She didn't want a big party or anything, but I kind of made her invite her friends over. She had about 10 kids here last weekend. Then girls chatted, played Guitar Hero and walked around the neighborhood a bit. The boys ended up playing a game of Risk. lol They all ate and ate (lots of pizza & cupcakes were consumed!). They all had fun, I had to keep quieting them down some. ;)

But anyways, I have LOTS of updating to do on school-ish stuff. So I'll be working on that this weekend. School started last week, so I hope to post soon about what we're doing weekly. :)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

My friend from Greece, Marianna, has tagged me. I'm a little slow lately, lol, but wanted to participate in this MeMe. :)

I've been tagged by her to write 6 unimportant things about me! Like every game, this one has a few rules:

1. Mention the person who tagged you on your blog2. Use your creativity and write 6 things about you3. Tag 6 more blog pals4. Notify them by posting a comment or sending them an e-mail saying the words "you've been tagged!" (or however else you wanna express yourself really:)

Now, let's see...

1) I'm a paper piler. I have stacks of paper, magazines, books, etc. everywhere. It seems when I get rid of one pile of paper clutter, I've made 3 more.

2) I have a hard time reading non-fiction books. Most of them just bore me to death. I've tried reading books others have thought were great, but I usually stop after the first 50 or so pages. Or I do some serious skimming. It really depends on the subject matter. The history and science books the kids and I read/use for school I enjoy.

3) I'm a spend-aholic. I really have to force myself at times to NOT spend money. I prefer shopping online, 'cuz then I don't have to carry my purchases around. LOL

4) I'm very unorganized. LOL (See #1.) But I can usually manage to get it together in time for whatever activity, etc. might come up that I need to be organized for. And on occasion, I will have forgotten something I needed for said activity.

5) I used to love getting on roller coasters, but don't think I can anymore. I'm secretly (not such a secret now though) glad that Jake doesn't like them either so I have an excuse not to ride them. LOL I don't mind little ones, but the fast, upside down & sideways, backwards & forwards, etc ones... I think I'll pass. hehe

6) I am finding it REALLY hard to come up with a 6th thing to tell you about myself that you might not have known before. I'm just such an open book, LOL. Oh ok, there's one. I think I am a boring person! hehe I once mentioned this to a new group of people, on a message board type thing, and one lady emailed me privately and asked me if I was ok. She thought I was going through a serious bout of depression, because I thought I was boring. Well if I was depressed, that statement had me laughing my ass off and would have been enough to clear the fog away. She should have been an online shrink, if she could "diagnose" someone but a freaking comment such as that.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

I just keep forgetting to update here. I'll keep at it, but I really don't think I'm cut out to be a blogger. LOL

So what's been going on with us? April went by really freaking fast! We had a lot of colder, yucky days with a few really nice ones and then a few ridiculously hot ones.

We had 2 Earth Scout meetings, 2 book club meetings and 2 co-op days. They all went well.

With Earth Scouts, I'll be changing the schedule a bit for the summer months. We usually have a hard time getting enough kids there to make the meeting worth it, so we're going to cut back to once a month. And those will be outdoors. So this weeks meeting will be the last indoor meeting until Fall. If the weather is too nasty we'll come up with something else.

Book club is going very well. This weeks meeting, we'll be discussing the 4th Percy Jackson book, The Battle of the Labyrinth. I must say, these books are really good! The 5th book is released today, The Last Olympian. So we are heading to Border's this evening to grab it up. I really wish Amanda would read these, I think she'd enjoy them also. So, with the kids reading the Percy books, we'll be holding a Mythology Bee. This will be on May 15th, not our usual book club day. Some of the kids will either be on vacation or moving, so we bumped it up a few days so they can participate.

Co-op has ended for this school year. May 1st was the last meeting, which the kids and I missed due to some UPS deliveries I needed to be here for. :( I'll miss co-op, but also thankful for the break. I am not sure what we'll do come fall. I might just rejoin for Jake and I, and Amanda can come along if she wishes. Jake really likes it, and so does Amanda... but for her, its just so terrible to have to wake up so early. I think starting at 11am would be a good idea though. LOL Hint hint Marti if you read this. ;)

So we have some fun stuff coming up in May with Earth Scouts and Book club. Plus we'll be continuing with the Geo-Club, once a month.

Today is Cinco de Mayo, so we're having a potluck picnic at the park with friends. I really, really, really hope the weather cooperates with us today!

So that's what's going on in a nutshell (or a nuthouse?) with us lately. :)

Saturday, April 4, 2009

So I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging more about our school life. :) So here's what we were doing this past week.

Math - Not as much math work was done as I had hoped, but they both did get a decent amount finished. Amazingly I think Amanda finished more than Jake. She's at the mindset now where the more she does, the sooner she'll be done (thankfully!!).

Geography - Geo-club is going well. We did miss the last meeting though. :( My kids are not super into it, but they do learn (and remember) some interesting things as we go along.

Reading - Jake has jumped ahead and finished reading the first 4 Percy Jackson books. He really got into them more than I thought he would. So I went ahead and ordered The Demigod Files for him also. The 5th book will be out sometime in the beginning of May. But I don't think we'll use that for the Mythology Bee for the book club. We might still read that but not sure if everyone will have it before. We'll have to wait and see.

We had another Earth Scouts meeting this week. We've been working on the Peace and nonviolence principle. So we talked about signs & symbols of peace. I showed the kids the symbols and we talked a little about them. Then one of the boys showed the group a bit about meditation, they did some yoga and got all stretched out. :) For the final activity they each colored in a peace Dove (of Picasso's) and wrote some words on their paper that they think of as peaceful.

After ES was the book group. We only have 7 kids reading the Percy Jackson books, and the group was small this week. 4 kids were there. But we still had a great meeting. It's interesting hearing what the kids think about the books. We did have a bit of an issue though. Some of them have read all through the first 4 books (my son included) and they are getting the books mixed up. Which I had a feeling was going to happen. (Mental note to myself: I need to email the group and have them re-read for next meeting.) So I had to keep them straight on things so they didn't give too much away for those of us who haven't read that far.

And on Friday, we had another co-op meeting. Co-op day is always fun, but as I've said, I come home with a terrible headache. LOL The things we go through for our kids. ;) First class is Wizardology. I have Jake (& Amanda but she just reads something else) in the class. We had a small group this week, just 3 out of 6 boys. So it was MUCH calmer and quieter. lol We actually finished the last 3 lessons in the handbook, which completes the Spring lessons. So now the boys can do the Summer lessons at home and they'll have completed the entire "course" on Wizardology. :) So for our next class, I think we'll view a movie. So I need to find a good one to show.

Then in the 2nd class, Jake had dissection. They did the starfish. That was pretty cool. I'll upload some pictures later. Jake had a medium sized starfish, so you could see things fairly nicely. Lots of digestive yuck. lol Amanda was in photography during 2nd period. Not sure exactly what she did. I know she needs to get some pictures printed up.

And that was our week. We have nothing NOTHING!! planned for next week. But I do need to figure out a day to have some kids over for a going away party for one of Jake & Amanda's friends. His family is moving to Australia soon for 2-3 years. But that's about it. Let's hope the week is a calm and quiet one. :D

Monday, March 23, 2009

I haven't posted anything homeschooling wise here in awhile. This is after all a homeschooling blog, not a Lost blog which it would seem it has become. hehe So here is a bit of what we've been up to recently.

Jake had decided to join the dissection class at co-op. Of course this was after the 3rd class, so I had to get his kit ordered. A group of us went together and placed a large order of various items through the Home Science Tools website. Very cool stuff by the way. I order his dissection kit, complete with tool kit, 7 specimens and dissection guides. Then I also picked up a mini chemistry kit, I think there are about 30 different experiments. Several us then went together to get a bulk discount on owl pellets & cow eyeballs.

Jake and I did one of our owl pellets last week. Very cool! Here are some pics:

We did our eyeballs yesterday with a group of friends. That was still cool, just a tad bit gross. It certainly wasn't as bad as I was expecting though, and I did have fun. (I'm one of the kids that refused dissecting anything in middle school.) Here's a few pics:

The beginning of March went went on a mini vacation. We headed off to Williamsbug, VA for 3 days, staying 2 nights at Great Wolf Lodge. It was great, the kids had a fabulous time at the Lodge and can't wait to go back again. We had some issues with our meals, and Amanda ended up getting sick the last day there (not sure if it was a stomach virus or from the food). So next time we go, we'll certainly be taking more of our own food to make. hehe

Jake and I are still reading the Percy Jackson books, Amanda has decided to not join the group. So she will be reading a series of books on Colonial Williamsburg children. Jake is on Book 3, I'm just getting started on Book 2.

And we're enjoying using the Trail Guide to US Geography and sharing with our group. We have our next meeting this coming Thursday. So here are our plans for the week -

Math: Both kids need to get caught up with their math.

Reading: We'll continue to make time during the day for all 3 of us to be able to read in peace. :) So this means, we'll have a designated reading time.

Geography: We have a bit more to finished by Thursday in our 2nd region for geo-club.

And I'm not sure what else we'll get into. We have some science work in our Story of Science books, plus I think we might do a chemistry experiment or 2. We have some history work to do. I Ave a paper model of the Jamestown Settlement we never got around to doing, so I think we might do this as well.

So that's a bit of what we've been up to. I'll try harder to update more regularly. :D

Thursday, February 26, 2009

WOW! This week's episode was fabulous. We are getting more answers every week, which is always a good thing. ;)

So this was a John Locke episode. We find out what he does after leaving the island, how he dies, and what happens once on the plane to try to get back to the island.

So after John turns the wheel, he ends up in Tunisia, the same "drop spot" that Ben ended up when he left the island. John lays in pain for awhile before someone comes and picks up, takes him to a medical station. He passes out from pain, but before he does, he sees someone watching him. A tall, skinny, black man. Matthew Abaddon. When John wakes up, Charles Widmore is beside his bed. He tells John "it's good to see you again" and of course John has no clue who he is. When Widmore tells him, he then asks John how long has it been since John actually met him. John tells him 4 days, and Widmore is amazed at that.

So Widmore goes on to tell John a few things. Widmore says HE used to lead the Others. That Ben wanted him out so he could take over and tricked Widmore into leaving. Widmore says John HAS to get back to the island because a war is coming. The next day Widmore gives John a new id (Jeremy Bentham), money, and a folder of where to find all the O6'ers. He sends John off with Abaddon.

First John goes to see Sayid. He of course wants nothing to do with the island. The he goes to see Walt. He can't bear to ask Walt to come back to the island with him. He tells Abaddon that Walt has been through enough. Walt asks about his dad, John tells his last he heard his dad was on a freighter near the island. He asks Walt why he doesn't seem surprised to see him. Walt tells John he's been having dreams about John. He says "Your on the island in a suit. You are surrounded by people. And they want to hurt you." So from there John heads to CA to see Kate. She tells him no. He sees Hurley, and I think Hurley was starting to listen, until he see Abaddon. Then Hurley freaks out and goes back inside the mental hospital.

John had asked Abaddon to find Helen, he old love. They go to see her, at the graveyard. While getting ready to leave, someone shoots and kills Abaddon. John jumps into the driver seat and speeds off. But he gets into an accident and wakes up in a hospital. Jack's hospital. So of course, Jack is sitting there watching him. He wants to know why John is there. John tries to convince Jack to go back. He goes to leave the room and Locke says "Your father says hi". Jack freaks a bit and says his dad has been dead for 3 years. John tells him he didn't look dead when he told him how to move the island. Jack storms out after telling John to stay away from him and everyone else.

So then we see John in his hotel room, preparing to hang himself. Just as he has the noose around his neck, Ben bursts in. He tells John he is special and the island needs him alive. Ben of course tells John Widmore is evil and a liar. He talks John down. Then they are talking and Ben says John should visit Sun. John says no, Jin is alive and doesn't want her to come back. At this, Ben seemed a little worried. John says he has Jin rings to give to Sun. And he also tells Ben he needs to find a woman in LA, her name is Eloise Hawking. Ben gets really pissed now. And he proceeds to strangle John to death! Yep, Ben talks John out of killing himself, only to do so for him. So Ben wipes down the room, makes it look like John did hang himself, and as he is walking out the door, says "I'll miss you John, I really will."

Now, we are in a room. Cesar the new guy on the plan with the O6ers, is searching a room. This room has a lot of paperwork, etc in. Old magazines about nuclear bombs, files of drawings on time & space. And a shotgun. A woman comes in, Ilana, and says they found a man standing in the water in a suit. No one recognizes him from the plane. We find out it is John, alive and well. The next day he is talking to Ilana, there are some boats on the beach and he asks if they are theirs. She tells him they were there, but one is missing because the pilot took off in one with a woman. (Possibly Sun?) He asks if they have the passenger list, she tells him to talk to Cesar. Then she asks him what he remembers. He says he remembers dying. Then Locke goes to Cesar and tells Cesar he is in a Dharma hatch and that they were one the island doing experiments. Cesar asks John a question. He wants to know why some of the passengers just seemed to "disappear" from the plane. He says he could probably explain but he needs to find his friends first. He asks if the ones on the beach are all of the passengers, he says yes except for the injured. So he shows John the injured. He walks up to one, Cesar asks if he recognizes him? And John says yes, we see the man and it is Ben looking more injured than he was from whatever happened on the pier.

So, we learned some interesting things this week - Ben was obviously jealous of Widmore and wanted him gone. Ben must have thought he knew things that no one else did (such as about Eloise Hawking). Ben was obviously jealous of Locke as well, because he knew things about what was happening on the island that Ben didn't (Jin being alive). We know Walt is still a part of the show. He doesn't know what happened to his dad though.

What we don't know - Who is good, who is bad? Widmore vs Linus. Or are they both bad? Maybe one is just a little less evil? Or, on the other hand.. could Ben actually be "the good guy" in all this just trying to protect the island. If this is true, what did Widmore do that was so terrible the island needs protection from him?

Why did Ben kill John? My theory is Ben knew John had to die. But John could not take his own life. He had to be killed/sacrificed. But I really don't think Ben knew John would come back to life. I think that is why Ben is so crazy, he knows a lot about the island but not everything. And that pisses him off.

What are the roles of these new "losties". I really hope not much. LOL I don't want to get involved with a new group of people. I like my original losties. :)

I think it is funny in a way that the island heals John, twice now! But it seems to only hurt Ben more. His cancer, now his injuries from the plane crash. (He was either asleep or passed out when John saw him after the crash, so we don't know how bad he is hurt.)

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Ok so I re-watched the episode tonight with the kids finally. (They aren't as "in a hurry" to watch them as I am. LOL) And I have a few more thoughts.

I was reading some blogs, and people were thinking "the man" E. Hawking keeps mentioning is Daniel Faraday, her son. I didn't think so at first, but now I am wondering if it isn't. It is possible that Daniel joined Dharma after his mother left the island (she obviously left, but I have no clue on the reason).

Locke in his coffin - I swear he smiles while Jack is changing his shoes. I asked the kids if they saw it too and they agree with me. It is just the slightest twitch of the lips, but he looks like he is smiling.

Ray, Jack's granddad. I had said before that I think he knows more than is letting on. That he KNOWS about the island. In fact, I think he is the one person that knows ALL of the island, Jacob. I really think Ray is Jacob. That's why Jack is so important to the island. That's why Christian and Claire were in the cabin, and why Christian is "speaking" on behalf of Jacob to Locke.

Jin - I didn't catch it before, but at the end of the episode when he jumps out of the Dharma van and points the gun at Jack, Kate and Hurley.. I don't think he recognizes them at all. When Hurley calls his name, he has a very puzzled look on his face. So I am thinking the one left on the island somehow joined up with the Dharma people, and completely forgot about the life before coming to the island. Brainwashed maybe?

Sunday, February 22, 2009

hehe I am printing like a mad-woman today. I've been slacking (nothing new there right?) with our Geography work. Our first club/group meeting is this Thursday. So I need to get my arse on the ball. So I am printing out the pages for the first 2 regions: New England States & Mid-Atlantic States. This way, next week I have no excuses and we can get started right into the next region.

So for the upcoming week, here's what we have planned.

Math - The kids will be finished with the Key to Decimals books by the end of the week. (Well *supposed* to be finished anyways.) Then we're going to move into Algebra and I think some beginning Geometry.

Reading - We didn't get to have our last book group. A lot was going on last week, many were sick. So some didn't get the book finished, us included. So we'll be finishing The Lighting Thief up this week also.

Science - I think this week we are just going to watch some Planet Earth DVDs. We also have a lot of the Food Detective shows DVR'ed that I think we'll watch. Just have an easy week science-wise.

History - The kids are bored with what we've been doing (explorers) so I think we might jump into something else. I need to sit down with them and see what they want to do.

And of course, Geography we'll be working on the New England States region for our Geo-club meeting on Thursday.

And thankfully Thursday is the only day we have anything planned out of the house! YAY!! it is supposed to be an icky week weather-wise, so I'm glad we get to stay home most of it. :)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

So I think we are finally getting somewhere, answer-wise at least not a lot answered but a few things.

This weeks episode was good! So please don't read if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to read any spoilers. :)

The episode starts off with Jack, in a suit, laying on his back, in a jungle! Is it another flashback? Did he return to the island? At first you aren't sure (there is one clue though). You hear yelling, someone calling for Help! The voice sounds familiar, then you hear someone yelling "Jack!". So you know it isn't a flashback, because no one knew his name before. Jack runs, comes to a cliff/waterfall and sees Hurley in a lagoon struggling. Jack dives off the cliff and pulls him to shallow water. He looks around, and sees Kate. They rush to her.

(As to the clue I mentioned, you can tell that it isn't a flashback as Jack's hair is longer.)

Then we jumped back 36 hours. Jack, Sun, Ben, Desmond are all with Ms hawking again. She tells a bit about what Dharma was doing. Desmond gets mad and tells her the message from Daniel, warns Jack not to listen to her and leaves, even thought Hawking told him the island is not done with him yet. She then tells Jack, Sun, and Ben to get on Ajira flight 316 to Guam. She believes this will be the flight that will take them back to the island.

Hawking takes Jack into an office and gives him a letter from Locke. It was his suicide note. She also tells Jack that in order to "recreate" Flight 815 as close as possible, that Locke is taking Christians place. So Jack needs to give Locke something of Christians. Jack rejoins Ben, Sun has left. Then Ben leaves telling Jack he has to see an old friend, some unfinished business to attend.

Jack pays a visit to Ray, his granddad. After some talking, Jack helps unpack his granddad's suitcase (he was running away from the nursing home his lives at) and finds his dad's (Christian's) shoes. So he asks for them. As Jack returns home, with the shoes, he hears someone in his place. It is Kate. She is on his bed, and very upset. He asks what's wrong and she asks him if he wants her to go back to the island with him. He says yes, but asks where Aaron is. Kate tells him if he wants to go back, he can never asks her again anything about Aaron. He agrees.

The next morning, Kate sees the shoes and makes a joke that if he is wearing those on the flight, he might want to reconsider and wear some hiking boots. He tells her when he when to Sydney for his dad, he didn't have any nice shoes. Jack didn't believe Christian was worth the trouble, so instead of buying him shoes to be buried in, he placed an old pair of his own white sneakers on him instead. Kate leaves Jack's place, tells him she'll meet him at the airport. Jack gets a call from Ben. He needs Jack to go to the butcher shop and pick up Locke and bring him to the airport. We see Ben at a phone booth on a pier, and he's been badly beaten up.

Jack goes to the butcher and puts his dad's shoes on Locke and gives him the unopened suicide note back. Then off to the airport. As Jack is talking to the person at the ticket counter, Kate walks bye. Then Sun comes up behind Jack. Next thing you know, Sayid is being led past as well. But he is with a woman. We see her flash a badge and realize Sayid is in handcuffs (taking Kate's place?).

Next we see someone reading a graphic novel/comic book in Spanish. It's Hurley! He somehow found out about the flight. An announcement is made for standby passengers to buy their tickets. Hurley gets upset and runs up saying he bought the 70-some empty seats. The attendant asks him why he would prevent the others from getting a flight. He looks around and just says "They can take the next flight". (He just doesn't want them to die in case this flight is "the one" to take them to the island again.)

So we get on the plane. There is Jack, Kate, Sun, Hurley, and yep! Sayid also. So 5 of the 6 is on the plane. Just before take-off, who comes running on board? Why Ben of course!

The 5 are nervous, after they get into the air Jack sits with Kate. You hear the pilot come on and announce his name. Well guess who?! Its none other than Frank Lapidus. So Jack asks to speak with him. The flight attendant tells Jack the found something of his. The note from Locke. So Frank comes out, and he notices one by one the others. He asks Jack "We aren't going to Guam are we?". :)

As Jack is back in his seat, and he and Ben are talking. Jack tells Ben about the letter and in a rare moment.. Ben does a generous thing. He tells Jack he'll give him his privacy to read the note. He does finally. It says "I wish you would have believed me". Then we see a flash of bright light and Jack wakes up on the island.

After rescuing Hurley and getting to Kate, we hear a vehicle and loud music playing. It's a Dharma VW van. The drivers steps out and points a gun at the 3. Guess who it is? Jin.

Ok.. so some things we have answers for: We know how they get back to is island. We know they all were at least on the flight (minus Aaron). (We don't see Sun, Sayid and Ben on the island yet, so can only wonder if they are also there.) We know that Desmond found Faraday's mom like asked and gave her the message. (Her reply was "I thought that's what I was doing?) We know that Dharma wanted the island because of the magnetic properties (or something weirdly scientific like that) and that they'd been searching for it since the 50's. We also were told by Hawking that the island is & always has been moving. (Just apparently never having time flashes before.)

What we don't know: How did Hurley find out about the flight? (He was carrying a guitar, so possibly Charlie told him?) Where did Sun, Sayid and Ben go? Why was Ben beaten up? Did he try to follow through on his promise to kill Penny? Where is Aaron? Did Kate send him to stay with Sun's daughter and mom? Did she give him away? Or did she give him to Claire's mom? Why is Sayid in handcuffs? Is this maybe because they finally caught up to him for all the assassinations? Why is Jin in a Dharma van, with a Dharma uniform on?

Some other thoughts: I think Jack's granddad, Ray, knows about the island. I think his "escape" from the nursing home was a plan to get Jack there and find the shoes. Maybe Christian "visited" him at some point and told him to get Jack there; I looked on imdb.com and Claire's mom will be in an upcoming episode. So I'm thinking she has Aaron.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

So, Amanda has a major addiction to the Xbox 360. And her ritual everyday is to modify her avatar. I think her goal is to make it the weirdest, stupidest looking thing EVER!! Anyways, just thought I'd share one of her more recent "looks". I can't even begin to label what style this would fall under.. but here ya go!

Monday, February 16, 2009

I know it seems as if this has become a blog for Lost. LOL But with everyone being sick so much lately, there hasn't been a ton to post school-wise.

So for this week we have to do the following:

Math - Get caught up through at least book 3. Amanda has a lot more to do than Jake does.

Reading - Finish reading The Lighting Thief (Book group on Wed.)

Science - we're going to skip science this week so we can focus on math mainly.

Geography - Finish up Region 1 work in Trail Guide to US Geography notebook.

Then I need to get materials gather for Earth Scouts on Wed. We make peace flags on paper, and this week we are transferring these onto material for a hanging flag. The kids will then be able to use a metal clothes hanger to display their flags on.

Jake has some work to finish up for Wizardology for Friday's co-op. Amanda has some photography homework to do.

Thursday the kids are having some of the homeschool teens over for a game day. I think they'll mainly be playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

So we have lots of things to do this week, not much time spent at home, or at least home alone. LOL

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Well last night episode was a little more informative than what we normally get (in my opinion anyways). Still left me with a few new questions, but hey at least we are getting some answers.

So Jin was helping the French group (with Rousseau) find the radio tower. I still don't recall Danielle and Jin together much, so not sure if she recognized him or not. We found out where the smoke monster lives, at the Temple. Still not sure why it didn't kill the french guys that went into the site where it lives (they were going after one of their guys that the monster pulled in). Danielle's hubby told her it was a security system, which Ben has said before, but then tried to kill her. So not sure what he wanted her to do that she must have obviously refused.

One of the French group, Nadine, looks very familiar but I can not place her. At first I thought she looked like Charlotte. But I know I have seen her before on this show.

Jin is finally back with Sawyer, Locke and gang. We find out that Charlotte was on the island as a child. And she tells Daniel that a crazy old man told her when she was little to leave the island and never come back. She says that man, she believes, was Daniel. She mentions her and her mom, but nothing about her dad. She was with Dharma.

Locke finds the well (Charlotte told him about it) and goes down. After another flash he is trap underneath in a tunnel, the rest of the gang up above. Christian Shepard appears and tells Locke Ben was not suppose to move the island, Locke was. He is a sacrifice. So Locke, with a broken leg from falling in the well, has to turn the wheel that Ben did. Apparently when Ben turned it, if jumped off track and I am "guessing" that's why the time jumps are happening.

We got to see some of the Six again. Sun, Sayid, Jack, Kate, and Ben are all together. Ben tells Sun Jin is alive and he can show her. Kate grabs Aaron and leaves, Sayid walks off as well. Ben, Sun, and Jack go to a church in LA to meet a woman named Hawking. As they are in the parking lot, Ben gives Sun Jin's wedding ring. And guess who shows up? Desmond. He asks what the 3 are doing there, and and Ben tells him "I guess the same reason you are". Desmond says "You're looking for Daniel Faraday's mother too?" and Ben looked terribly shocked. I don't think he knew that little bit of info.

Inside the church, I am pretty sure Desmond recognizes the lady that he was trying to buy the engagement ring from. She asks Ben why they aren't all there but says that will have to do for now. So I take that to mean, the rest will be there by the time she is ready to send them back (as we saw in previews for next week, all but Sayid).

So my questions are: Why & how did Charlotte and her mother leave? Who is her mother? What exactly happened with the smoke monster and the French guys?

And if you all can, get the TV Guide!! The past few weeks have had some really interesting ready and itty bitty spoilers in it. Walt is coming back. We're going to see more of young Ben before he was evil/deranged. People that are not Dharma or the Others make Ben into what he is now. And at least one of the following theories is true, but I have no idea which: Miles is Marvin Candle's (the Dharma guy) son; Ben is Locke's brother; Charlotte is the grown-up Annie. (I personally wouldn't doubt if ALL 3 were true!) Something about Jack's granddad. Widmore has been on the island for a long time.

Friday, February 6, 2009

I'm home sick today, we had co-op but I just felt miserable when I woke up. And now I am miserable with a cold. (Didn't *think* I was getting sick with a cold this morning though.)

So, anyways... This week went a little slower, but still didn't answer a lot. Here are my thoughts.

What we did find out, not in order they were revealed though:

Ben is behind the lawyers coming to Kate for blood samples from her and Aaron. Is he trying to get Aaron from her or just trying to scare her into going back to the island. I am not sure know, because why else would he tell her he is behind it. I think there is something we don't know yet about Claire and Aaron. I am wondering if the reason the plane crashed is really just to have Aaron there.

Jin is alive. I had a feeling he wasn't "dead". but how does Ben know? If Locke knew, he would have told Sun to get her to go back. But since Locke is working with Ben, maybe he did and she just didn't believe him.

Daniel also suspects that Miles has been on the island before. Which makes me think he was definitely the baby of the Dharma film guy.

Ok so for new questions and things still unanswered -

I still want to know about Walt. Do he not need to come back since the island apparently didn't want him? And what about Sun's baby. Does she have to go back as well, since she wasn't technically on the island as she wasn't born until they left?

The nosebleeds. I still do not think they have anything to do with needing a constant, such as Desmond's time traveling episode.

The French group. As soon as I saw them, I knew it was Danielle's people. And I am wondering if or what will change now that Jin is with them. I am sure he'll figure out something is going on regarding time travel. I just can't recall how much he had to do with Danielle before. But from reading the TV Guide, Jin will be learning to speak English better and interacting with the Losties more. So I am really hoping he finds Sawyer and the gang.

What does Claire's mom have to do with things now? Was she just tossed in there to throw us off? I don't think so.

We know why Richard Alpert was at the hospital where Locke was born. And again why he visited young Locke at his foster home. Locke told him when he was born.

We found out Widmore's connection to the island - he was an Other!

We found out there's apparently always been "others" on the island. But not why.

More questions though:

Is the white haired lady Daniel's mom? Since it appeared that she was in LA with Ben. Is Ellie, the blonde "other" the same person, Daniel's mom? Was Daniel born on the island? Did his mom and Widmore have some sort of falling out while on the island and that is why Widmore left (or was kicked off)? How old is Daniel? Is he another Richard Alpert in that he never ages. The guy Desmond talked to in the Psychics dept. I am curious about. Who is he and what is he doing? He's obviously keeping Faraday's stuff. And how long has it been since Faraday's been there? I can't imagine too long, otherwise they would have tossed his stuff right? And, since Daniel seems to be what they storyline is revolving around lately... is Widmore Daniel's father? Why else would he have funded his research for so long, and paid for the medical care for the girl Daniel messed up.

What is making Charlotte sick? Is it the same thing that Desmond and the boat guy went through? It doesn't seem like it because she's not acting the way they did with jumping from time to time and not knowing anyone.

It seems that anything Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Sawyer Locke or Juliet are holding onto, they "travel" with in the time flashes. Miles and Charlotte were tied up, and when the white light came, everything disappeared, but they were still tied up. Daniel's kept his bag the entire time. So I am wondering if they held onto Richard or another "other" would they time travel as well?

I don't think Widmore will do anything to Desmond now that he is with Penny again. I think he believes they are safe as long as they are hiding from him. Because then they'll also be hidden from Ben. Which is why he didn't want Desmond looking for Daniel's mom, she's with Ben.

Ugh.. Why does Lost have to be a weekly drama! LOL We can only hope next week will reveal a little more and not leave us with a ton more questions. And I missed seeing the Oceanic 6 this week. It doesn't seem right not getting at least of glimpse of them.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

We have some assignments to do this week for our book club and co-op. So with our regular work, we'll be keeping quite busy.

I am going to just list by subject. I'm not doing so well with the daily schedules. if something comes up, then we get behind and I feel like a slacker. *sigh* So anyways, here's what will be keeping us busy this:

Math - Both kids have their books and what pages need done by Friday. They've been slacking a bit on this, so this is the week they need to get caught up. By Friday, they'll be finished book 2.

History - We have some more worksheets to finish up for the explorers/Lewis & Clark. Then we'll be starting in with the Pioneers.

Reading - We have the first 11 chapters of The Lighting Thief to read. Plus work in their reading journals for that.

Science - I want to get at least 5 lessons completed by Friday.

The kids both have a research paper on Orca's for our co-op'sWizardology class. So they need to get their data sheets filled out and prepare to get those typed up.

Things I have to do: Get Pioneer pages printed up; Read over the instructions for the Trail Guide to the US manual and get a date schedule for our Geo-Club meeting; Read over the instructions for the Journey North Mystery Class project.

Tuesday both kids have dental check-ups. And then that evening is Game night at the local game store. So we'll be heading there in the evening to meet with some friends. I'm making a big pan of brownies to take along. Mmmm

Friday, January 23, 2009

My Friend Marianna was "interviewed" by her friend, so I want to join in as well. :)

1. Why did you become a blogger? What is it that you like about it? I basically started blogging to tell anyone that wanted to read, about our homeschooling days. Sometimes I post HSing stuff, sometimes just my rambling thoughts. I like blogging because I can say what I want. I don't have to worry about offending anyone, because it is MY blog and if they don't like it, they can close the page. :) Plus it gives me something to look back on later to see what my plans were, etc.

2. Remember a time when you said to yourself "this is too good to be true"? If yes care to share this moment with us? Yep, when my kids were born. It seemed to take awhile before it sunk in that those little people were mine. Now I am reminded a million times a day when I hear one of them yelling "MOM!" LOL

3. Greek people back in the day (like my 75 year old granny) believed in dreams and their symbolic nature (if you see sweets in a dream is a bad thing but if you see eating it, is worse :-) Of course now we do not actually believe in this kind of things but still we talk about our dreams (as most people do). Do you have a dream that you saw and remember vividly? Do you believe it meant something? Can't recall any offhand. But I know there have been times where I would dream something and could have sworn it was real. After asking several people (that were apparently in the dream) about it, they had no clue what I was talking about. hehe

4. If someone were to come to you and say "I can show you a glimpse of your future. For one minute you will be able to see what will happen to you in the future"...would you do it? Would you look and why? No I wouldn't want to look ahead. If I saw something bad, then my time would be filled with dread waiting for it to happen. If something is going to happen, there's nothing I can do about it, and don't want to spend my time worrying over it.

5. Is there anything that you wish you could have done differently with your life so far? If yes, would you change it if you were given the choice? Probably would be to have done better in school. Maybe go to college, not sure about that. I would not want to go back to high school, no way no how! lol

Now here are the rules of the interview-game. I will post them and should anyone wishes to participate and continue this...it would be great!

1. Send me an e-mail or comment saying "interview me"

2. Then 5 questions will be e-mailed to you (questions I choose to ask you :-)

3. Answer them on your blog

4. Do not forget to re-post the rules along with your answers and offer to interview anyone else who e-mails you or comments that they wish to be interviewed!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

We've been keeping busy with Math and reading the past few weeks. Finished up George's Secret Key to the Universe, had out last book club meeting for that. We are now beginning the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series with The Lightning Thief. All of the kids seem to be really into it.

We've had 2 back-to-back Earth Scouts meetings as well. Last week was our badge ceremony. And we discussed a bit about the next principle we'll be doing, Peace and Non-violence. So the kids acted out some situations where they had to come up with a peaceful solution. This had them quite rowdy so we moved into doing some yoga. lol

Yesterday's Earth Scout meeting they all made mini books for Peace Journals. Some of them went ahead and wrote/drew in what they do to find peace. Others will fill it out later. I am looking forward to seeing what each kid puts into their journal.

We've had our first SALT Co-op meeting of the semester. I am only teaching one class this time around, but I helped out in the younger kids science class. Then I hang out with the teens that are doing the videos. So I don't get to sit and chat with the moms very much, but at least I can leave most of the thinking and planning to others. hehe

We finished reading the Lewis and Clark book. The kids just weren't into this book. I don't think they got much at all from it. So we'll continue on with something else.

So that's about it. I am looking foward to the weekend. I'll post our schedule for next week sometime soon. :)

Ok I know this isn't homeschool related.. but I just felt like posting. :) I seriously need to re-watch last nights 2 new episodes. I was under the impression we'd have answers to many of our burning questions. But I think I have even more questions than answers still!

So first up - Daniel Faraday. WHY is he back in time at the Orchid station. Did he take advantage of the island hopping around, or was he actually there because of his research many, many years before? Who is his mother? I think it is the white haired lady we saw later in the episode (who was also in a Desmond episode awhile back after the hatch was destroyed). Was Daniel born on the island? How can Desmond be Daniels constant? He HAD to have been on the island before because he tells Sawyer "if it didn't happen, it can't happen". And then ends up speaking to Desmond telling him to find his mother.

Kate & Aaron - Who were these lawyer guys working for? I think it is someone Ben sent to scare Kate into wanting to go back to the island. But if you remember Kate had a dream that Clair was there and telling her to never bring the boy back. The Psychic Guy (Charlotte's dad?) was sending Clair to LA for a couple to raise. Was that couple actually Jack and Kate?

Sun - Not sure what is up with her. I would think she'd be blaming Widmore for Jin's "death" as well and Ben and her father. Is she using Widmore to find the island? Is she trying to frame him/set him up for murdering Ben? Why did she come to see Kate, especially when no one went to see her and the baby aside from Hurley?

Locke - Is he dead? I don't think he is. How did he get off the island? If Locke had to die to save the island, why didn't Richard kill him?

Ben - Does he really want to get everyone back to the island? Or does he plan to kill them all? When he arrives at the Hotel in Tunisia after just moving the island (at least I am assuming this) he sees a news report of Sayid where he is burying his wife. How long passed between when Sayid was "rescued" and when Ben found him self in the desert? It would seem almost a year.

Walt - What about him? Does he need to return? It would seem odd that since the Oceanic 6 has to, he should as well. Or was this because the island actually wanted Walt to leave?

Desmond - Why does Daniel tell him he is special? Why doesn't he need to come back to the island? Was he actually meant to crash on the island, unlike the Oceanic plane?

Hurley - is he the only sane person? Why are the dead losties trying so hard to help him? Why all of a sudden does his mom tell him she believes him, when she wouldn't believe it when he told her the numbers were cursed?

Do the Oceanic 6 need to die to get back to the island as well? How do we know they truly weren't dead already on the island, and somehow by going through some weird time warp became alive again to the "outside" world. So in order to set things right, they'd need to die *again* (or for the first time) in the outside world. Which would explain why John was dead in the outside world, but not on the island.

*sigh* too many questions, not enough answers. I can't wait until next week. LOL

Edited to add -

Miles - Is he the baby we see Dharma Doctor (whatever his name is) feeding. I think the reason Widmore hired these 3 "scientists" is because they have a history with the island. They were either born there or grew up there. Miles was not worried about going home, nor was Charlotte.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Wow.. that break was WAY too short. LOL I've had to look at my planner twice now to be sure it was time to get back to work. *sigh* Wonder if anyone will notice if I take January off too? hehe

Ok all kidding aside, here is what we have going on this week coming:I am doing something new with math for the month. Sort of a trial period. I am not assigning any certain page or lesson #'s each day, but am leaving it up tot eh kids how much to do every day. But they have to have a certain # finished by Friday evening, or they'll be doing math on Saturday before anything else.

Wed Jan 7: Earth Scouts & Book club meetings, all afternoon. Earth Scouts we'll be having a badge ceremony and discussing the new principle we'll be working on:

*Peace and Nonviolence*· Respecting cultural differences, and recognizing commonalities in theglobal human family· Resolving conflict creatively and without the use of violence· Valuing and practicing cooperation· Developing inner peace

Our Book group will be discussing the most of the George's Secret Key to the Universe book. We decided to go ahead and finish this off since it has been since before Thanksgiving that we last met for the group. Then we'll discuss a bit about the next book, Percy Jackson. I think the kids will really enjoy these books. I am looking forward to it.

Thurs Jan 8: Ch 6 in history; Lesson 6 in science.

Fri Jan 9: Ch 7 in history; Lesson 7 in science.

They are to have 25 pages finished in Key to Decimals book 1. We'll be finished all 4 books by the end of Feb. Then I am hoping the newest version of the MUS books are out and we'll start Mar with pre-algebra.

Reading - we'll be finished with George's Secret Key to the Universe by Tues for our meeting on Wed. Then we're starting the Percy Jackson series with The Lighting Thief. We'll be doing the first 4 books (a new one is due out in May) and then having a Mythology Bee. I have the materials put out by Disney Media. They look really cool and I think the kids will have a lot of fun.